User blog:Ceauntay/Weekend Box Office: 'Heroes Forever: The New Beginning' Opening in 1,025 Imax Screens To Blast $78 Million+
=The Jane Hoop Elementary spin off is the second film after Doctor Strange to open over 1,000 screens.= Rita Christensen's Jane Hoop Elementary spin-off Heroes Forever: The New Beginning sets a new record for having the most Imax screen debut at 1,025 Imax screens beating Doctor Strange. The pic is also on course to potentially hit at least $78 million it its U.S. debut, according to early tracking. The pic is also opening in 4,180 screens nationwide. Last week Marvel Studios and Disney's Doctor Strange is the first title to open in more than 1,000 screens. Heroes Forever: The New Beginning will established the franchise's lowest opening weekend yet. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the titular superhero, a surgeon named Stephen Strange whose career is ruined after his hands are destroyed in a car accident. He seeks out the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who teaches him the power of the mystical arts. Heroes Forever: The New Beginning opens in North American theaters on Nov. 11. It hopes to launch a new franchise for Christensen and Paramount Pictures, home of blockbuster Jane Hoop Elementary film series, based on Christensen's books. Unlike Jane Hoop Elementary, Heroes Forever isn't based on a book, but on a script written by Christensen. Gary Ross directed. As originally planned for a trilogy, but in Apr. 2016, Christensen announced that she would extend the franchise to a total of five films. She will be screenwriter for all five film installments. The film stars Jessie actor Cameron Boyce as Devin Gorden, the new leader of the new Jane Hoop Elementary, who must learn for himself to protect the world from evil despite never realizing that he is given a special gift. Devin happens to be the son of Danny and Rebecca, who both were the original Jane Hoop Elementary heroes in the Jane Hoop Elementary days. G. Hannelis and Marcus Scribner also stars as his siblings, Brooke Gorden, Danny and Rebecca's daughter, and Kurtis Gutzwiller, Alec and Naudia's son, both also original members in the Jane Hoop Elementary days. Denis Villeneuve's critically acclaimed sci-fi adventure Arrival and year-end holiday comedy Almost Christmas will test the post-presidential election waters this weekend, although both are likely to lose to holdovers Doctor Strange and Trolls in terms of sheer votes. Arrival, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, is projected to open in the mid- to high-teen millions when launching at the North American box office this weekend. During the Cannes Film Festival in 2014, the studio plunked down $20 million for North American rights to the adult drama, which was produced and financed by FilmNation, Lava Bear and 21 Laps. As a way of comparison, Paramount insiders note that Steven Spielberg's adult drama Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks, opened to $15 million in October 2015 on its way to grossing $72 million domestically. In Arrival, Adams plays a linguist with uncanny talents who is recruited by the U.S. military to communicate with aliens. Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg and Mark O’Brien also star in the pic, which cost $47 million to make. Almost Christmas, the first year-end holiday comedy of 2016, is tipped to open in the low- to mid-teen millions for Universal and prolific producer Will Packer. The ensemble movie, targeting African-American audiences, stars Danny Glover as a patriarch who asks his family for just one gift — to all get along. Kimberly Elise, Omar Epps, Romany Malco, Mo’Nique, Nicole Ari Parker, J.B. Smoove, Gabrielle Union, Jessie Usher and DC Young Fly round out the cast. Nor is the forecast looking good for Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, which Sony opens in New York and Los Angeles this weekend and will make a nationwide play on Nov. 18. (At the 11th hour, the studio switched up its release plans for the moody modern-day war drama, which had been set to open everywhere this weekend.) In a bold move, Lee used a groundbreaking combination of 4K resolution and 3D at 120 frames per second, which is five times the standard speed. However, theaters don't yet have the necessary projectors to show the film, save for locations in New York and L.A. By all accounts, Marvel and Disney's latest superhero sensation, Doctor Strange, should easily take second place in its second weekend with as much as $40 million, while DreamWorks Animation and Fox's Trolls is projected to hold at No. 3. Category:Blog posts